A US deep-sea exploration company has made what many believe is the richest ever shipwreck treasure discovery.

A total 500,000 gold and silver coins, with a combined weight of 17,000 tonnes and an estimated value of US$500million (£250million), were discovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration (OME) in a 400-year-old wreck at an undisclosed site off the southwestern tip of Cornwall. The company used remotely operated vehicles to recover the treasure, which was then flown to its Florida headquarters.

The coins, many of which are said to be in mint condition, have a range of origins and dates. Marine archaeologists have expressed concern about possible damage inflicted during the salvage operations, prompting them to call for international protection agreements to be drawn up.

It’s thought that the wreck could be that of the Merchant Royal, an English ship known as the ‘Eldorado of the seas’, which sank in storms near the Isles of Scilly in 1641 en route from Mexico. According to London merchant reports, the Merchant Royal was carrying ‘£300,000 in silver and £100,000 in gold and as much again in jewels’.

August 2007